Reeds D'addario Venn Gen 2 Synthetic Reeds

[SaxDon]

Any ideas whether the clarinet Venn would work on soprano? That might be enough for me to pick up my soprano again!

 

[Guenne]

I had a test reed last week.
They wouldn't make me move to plastic reeds, although they're not bad.
As with all plastic reeds: For me, they feel both too soft and too strong. But I'm used to play cane, so don't trust me 🙂
I agree, 2,5 is like 2,5 Vandoren Blue on Tenor.

View: https://youtu.be/rPtnyJh_2X4

 

[SaxDon]

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[chrom]

I love the Venn reed - but within some days of intense and loud playing, the reed became considerably softer, lost power and edge. The same with another reed. Anybody here with some longer time experience with the Venn?

 

[David Roach]

I haven't had the time to play the Venn over a long period, but this doesn't surprise me. It'll be interesting to see if they recover after a rest.
I suppose the answer would be to get a few and rotate them, like cane reeds.

 

[SaxDon]

I’ve been rotating 3 for a few weeks now. I’m so impressed with these. Only synthetic I’ve found that replicates cane

 

[eb424]

I bought a new generation Venn 2.5 for Tenor, I have tried it and didn't like it very much. I thought it was quite hard, but that wasn't the reason I didn't like it. Too bright for me and I just didn't like the tone.

Trying synthetic reeds is an expensive business.

Not so bad with legeres return policy..great reeds for playing in the caravan

 

[Tamiflu]

Tried them, ok.
Back to cane.

 

[Falcofra]

Anyone tried the new D'addario Venn Gen 2 reeds?

As widely reported the first generation were plagued with quality control issues - this is the new 2nd generation which has had the issues sorted apparently.

I've taken the plunge and bought one and so far spent an hour playing it first thought is that it is extremely hard for a 2.0 but it sounds great - time will tell as to whether I can make the leap to a reed this hard. looking at the chart below they do say that they're harder than most other brands




View attachment 20113

I've tried a Venn 3 strength on tenor because I normally play a 3 soft or 3 med select Jazz but it was as hard as hell and unplayable. I emailed Daddario and told them and they sent me a 2.5 Venn free of charge which I've tried today. it's still too hard but I've scraped and sanded it down to make it playable. Sounds bright and loud so a bit more sanding required!
Anyone thinking of trying the Venn I would go for the 2 strength first! I would say the 2.5 was equivalent to a 3 H or even 4 in my opinion.
Tried them on a Lawton 7 and Otto Link vintage NY 8 mouthpiece. They might be better on a smaller tip opening?

 

[greenstripe]

***Newsflash***

Venn reeds going very cheap on Amazon currently depending on strengths:

Tenor

Alto

 

[Digger2054]

***Newsflash***

Venn reeds going very cheap on Amazon currently depending on strengths:

Tenor

Alto

You sucked me in... and I took a punt on #2 for the Alto.

I've used legere, but prefer Jazz Select (2M), less 'buzz' through the mouthpiece.

I knew the Venn #2 would be harder, and boy is it. I was like kid on Christmas morning ripping open their present only to discover there's no batteries

So as a relatively inexperienced player, if you're looking for a synthetic, Legere would be my first port of call. Although personally I'm quite happy on cane.

 

[Selmer10G]

I only tried the clarinet ones on a sale awhile back. My impression - like a fibracell but more work and twice the cost. YMMV.

 

[jthole]

I took advantage of the Amazon discount as well. Normally I play Vandoren Jazz (green) 3.0 on my alto. On tenor I play Légère Signature, but I didn’t like those so much on alto. I’ll report back when I have got the opportunity to really test them.

 

[Steve Marshall]

I was given a Venn to try and found it a bit hard, like most others. I put a straight edge on the underside to see if it was flat - it wasn't. That might explain why it was so hard to blow!
It'a a little tricky flattening the reed as it's quite hard material. Once flattened though they play a lot better. It still has a bit of a hard feel.
The reed seems slightly undersized and doesn't quite fit the mouthpiece as I'd like. The hardness of the material means the lig doesn't fit on it very securely and tends to slip which is a bit off-putting.
So, yeah they work quite well but still don't feel quite right. The price is a bit steep but they may be handy for gigs etc.

 

[Terence]

Anyone tried the new D'addario Venn Gen 2 reeds?

As widely reported the first generation were plagued with quality control issues - this is the new 2nd generation which has had the issues sorted apparently.

I've taken the plunge and bought one and so far spent an hour playing it first thought is that it is extremely hard for a 2.0 but it sounds great - time will tell as to whether I can make the leap to a reed this hard. looking at the chart below they do say that they're harder than most other brands




View attachment 20113

Bought a Venn 2.0 for tenor last. month. Quite disappointed because it was much too stiff so it was not an enjoyable experience, but I will keep persevering!
Much happier with my Legere American cut and Signature reeds.

 

[Digger2054]

I had a face to face lesson with my teacher last night, and asked if he'd tried the Venn reeds, to which his dismissed synthetic reeds. I presented him with the #2 Alto, that is too hard for me. Popping it on his alto, he was immediately playing with it, and was pleasantly suprised. Agreeing it's harder than a typical #2, and perhaps a #3.

The reed remained in place for the remainder of the lesson with no complaints, I've gifted it to him, will be interesting to see what he thinks of it in a fortnight.

 

[jthole]

Yes, it is interesting how many people dismiss synthetic reeds, often without even having tried themselves.

I filled out the exchange form for the Venn reed (alto 2.5, harder than I expected based on the strength chart), but my experience with synthetics in general ranges from acceptable to outstanding (no different with cane reeds).

 

[Ivan]

We've been a bit baffled why they've graded so bizarrely tough and also used a non-standard numbering system. Odd

I bet it's to do with the limitations of the material the reed is made from. It looks as though they've found a playable but hard material within an upper range of tough

Looking at the strength comparison charts, the Venn has a narrow spread of strength. That seems to be a bit of a marketing challenge, if they want to appeal to as broad a selection of players as possible, so they've used the familiar numbers 2 to 4 in the range, though it looks like the unhelpful 3+ was thrown in there for luck, or in panic

In fact the newer chart on their site shows a different pattern of strength distribution with a smaller jump 3+ to 3.5 but a bigger jump 3.5 to 4. Does this represent an unannounced change in their manufacturing of the 3 to 4 reeds, or a change in marketing?

It all smacks of a work in progress

 

[Wade Cornell]

I'm an unashamed user of synthetic reeds and have been for decades. I've tried many and found that most required an extensive period of adjustment, with some that never made the grade.

It's like getting a new mouthpiece that is a very different design than what you're used to. If after giving it a month or more you find you can't adjust, or find that it's not what you want, then give it up.

Those who throw on a synthetic reed made of a novel material and expect it to be just like their cane reeds are not bothering to give themselves the opportunity to find what may be a hidden gem.

Experienced players generally have a "tone concept" which is often based on a specific mouthpiece and reed combination. Changing one or both of these requires subtle adjustments of our embouchure, mouth cavity, throat, air flow, etc. which over time once again yields something close to our "tone concept". Some may be looking for a new tone: brighter, better balance of highs and lows, more mellow, etc.

IMHO the take home message is to not be too quick to disparage any of the synthetics. I also found the Venn a bit stiff (similar to most of you), but am continuing to give it time for me to adjust and see if I can find a tone that I like and the ease of playing I require.

Unlike most here my comparison is not cane or Legere, but Hartmann reeds, which for now, are my regulars.